Dr Victor Thompson - Exclusive Interview

• A problem has been brewing between Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp
• Mohamed Salah possibly wasn’t in the right mental state to perform
• Erik ten Hag is clutching at straws with compliments of his Man Utd performances
• Sean Dyche has taken the pressure off his players by ditching suit
• I’d expect Arsenal to lose title race after history of bottling
• Marcus Rashford could be invigorated by leaving Manchester United
• Arne Slot needs to changes things up at Liverpool — it’s like replacing Sir Alex
• The key to scoring penalties is in the mind
• Ronnie O’Sullivan acts as though he doesn’t care to take the pressure off

Dr Victor Thompson is a seasoned psychologist with more than two decades of experience in treating typical psychological issues including anxiety, phobias, depression, stress, and trauma. He has spent 10 years as a sports psychologist and 17 years as a clinical psychologist in the NHS. 

Presently, he operates completely in private practice, offering in-person and online video consultations from East Dulwich. He assists athletes with performance stress, injuries, and retirement transitions. 

He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Sheffield in 1995, a doctorate from the University College London in 2001, and a postgraduate degree in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy from the University of Oxford in 2008.

Here is our exclusive interview with Dr Thompson from May 2024

A problem has been brewing between Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp

I think there has been some problems brewing at Liverpool before that moment because it seemed to be quite a quick response by Mohammad Salah along the lines of ‘get out of my face or don’t tell me how to do my job’.

It could’ve been brewing during the match on the sidelines, but it was probably brewing before that because that obviously isn't the right arena to have that conversation.

It looks to be underlying frustration from a previous event, maybe a grudge to just something not being right. A frustration that should’ve been addressed earlier. Someone around them needs to tell them to have a private chat, either between them or with the staff. 

Mohamed Salah wasn’t in the right mental state to perform

Everyone can get frustrated and it’s fine to express that, but Salah is possibly not in the right mental state to perform when he goes on the pitch if that’s the way he’s feeling.

As a player and as a professional, you want to be managing yourself well. As a coach and a manager, you wanna be enabling your team to perform at their very best.

Erik ten Hag is clutching at straws with compliments of his Man Utd performances

By complimenting his team, Erik ten Hag could be clutching at straws by bringing up any compliments that the team might receive, that could be because he doesn’t really believe in the plan to turn things around or improve.

It could be an excuse, it could be a thing that you would try to get people to look at to try to look at other things because the scoresheet hasn’t been going in their favour. But of course he will know that is secondary.

Sean Dyche has taken the pressure off his players by ditching suit

Sean Dyche wearing a tracksuit instead of a suit could have taken pressure off the players because they will see games like more of a training session, a normal day.

People do get superstitions and might think it’s a magic tracksuit, so he might be stuck wearing it now. But by wearing it he looks more like ‘one of us’ so it brings more togetherness on a matchday. 

Players will feel more like they are all in it together rather than them in football attire and him in a suit, there are a number of ways it can be interpreted, some very good.

Arsenal could lose title race due to history of bottling

Arsenal have experience of doing really well and it ending badly, so that keeps happening then you’d subconsciously expect the pattern to repeat, unless you've got reasons why this time will be different.

Similarly with teams like Manchester City that maybe have a late surge or finish well or get really motivated towards the end of the season because they rise to the pressure, they’re going to repeat the actions that lead them to do well.

History is not destiny, but history definitely informs how you think this situation is gonna go if it's relevant.

Marcus Rashford could be invigorated by leaving Manchester United

Marcus Rashford will have to look into the potential contributors to his lack of form, but he could benefit from a fresh start.

Somebody like David Beckham was a classic example of being Manchester United born and bred, but thriving in a different country with a different culture and just a different opportunity.

It’s not often what players would volunteer for, but humans are very adaptable and can rise to the challenge and be invigorated by that new variety, a new context.

In the meantime he could be facing disrupting factors, stresses, strains, relationship challenges or somebody in the family who's ill which plays on your mind and makes you disengage or switch off.

Then you become a little bit seemingly vacant on the pitch or, or slower to respond. It's about recognizing those things and trying to address them and also enhancing the things that help you find that focus, the purpose, the motivation.

Or it might be that a good break is what's required, getting to the end of the season and having a plan for a proper restorative break in the off season.

Arne Slot needs to changes things up at Liverpool — it’s like replacing Sir Alex

It's difficult to step into a successful legacy, you can compare it to Sir Alex Ferguson leaving Manchester United.

That's why you need to make it different. You need to make sure you showcase it as being different as the new manager, different in certain ways and hopefully build yourself in a little bit of leeway initially to get up to speed.

That will help the staff and the culture of the place, the players to also have a period of adapting to the new way and believing that the new way will work.

The key to scoring penalties is not being afraid to miss

Routine is important but if you do a routine 1000 times and you think, I still hope that I don't get asked to take this penalty, it's not helping you.

The key to scoring penalties is your belief in your capacity to score it, not that it’s going to be 100% but just knowing that if you do fluff it, you’ll be okay.

That can be pretty hard, especially when it comes to the bigger games and the European Championships and World Cups, but practising and remembering that imagery is also key.

In training, it can be beneficial to have something on the line, you’ll never match that pressure but just having a forfeit or something along those lines can increase that pressure.

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England stars need to dismiss penalty past if they face spot-kicks

It has to be drilled into players that England’s past of losing penalty shoot-outs has nothing to do with them. Different individuals, different strategies.

It has to be seen that they are in a better position now and have experience to back that up, the historic defeats have to be seen as irrelevant. 

Players need to know that those penalty records have nothing to do with them, dismiss that and it won’t have an impact.

Mike Tyson could intimidate Jake Paul before comeback fight

YouTube: Jake Paul

Mike Tyson might know he isn’t at his best, but by thinking that he is the baddest it could intimidate and trash talk his rivals into submission a bit like Muhammad Ali did to some degree 

By trying to believe that you're gonna win, doing the right things, then back it up, seeing and training how you're becoming better and better, stronger and stronger, faster fitter, et cetera. That helps a lot.

For Jake Paul, the key is visualising that he isn’t going to be fighting Mike Tyson at his peak.

Conor McGregor has to manage his persona

For Conor McGregor, his comeback seems to be about talking the talk and putting himself in the best position to win, which might be good enough.

But with his persona, it’s very difficult to switch it on and keep it going when you’re outside of the ring, which can be another thing to manage.

Ronnie O’Sullivan acts as though he doesn’t care about snooker to take the pressure off

Ronnie O’Sullivan takes the pressure off himself by coming across that he isn’t that bothered about winning - and it definitely takes the pressure off.

But if he didn't care he wouldn't practise and he practises a lot. To not give it too much importance is good, but he definitely cares about his performance, his legacy and beating certain people - otherwise he wouldn't bother.